Samaria

Samaria (Hebrew: שמרון, Shōmerōn; Arabic: سامريّون, Sāmarīyūn; Greek: Σαμάρεια, Samareia; "watch mountain") is the central part of the region of Palestine, and extends for about 40 miles from north to south, and 35 miles from east to west.

Contents

Archaeological finds

Many parts of the Samarian city wall have been found. Made of Ashlor blocks and decorated with beautiful illustrations of ivory, these 1 1/2 meter thick pieces of cold hard history are lovely attraction.

Samaritans

Samaritanism

The religious views of the Samaritans were greatly effected by each of their many conquerors. They started out with the same beliefs of the Jews in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). But as time progressed, and they were captured or conquered by different regions their religion changed as well. At different points in time they worshiped gods such as YHWH, Baal, and Astarte. During their time under the Greek reign, Alexander the Great even aloud them to build a temple. The Jews believed them to be racially impure, but also admitted that the Samaritans were not ordinary pagans.

Geography

This link leads to a complete power point presentation on the topic of the geological position of Samaria.

Bible References

There are many references to Samaria in the Bible from 1 Kings all the way to Acts. This link leads to a complete list of all these occurrences.

But perhaps the most memorable mentioning of Samaria is the parable of the good Samaritan (from Luke 10:25-37) which is noted below.

"And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.' But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' And Jesus said to him, 'You go, and do likewise.'" - Luke 10:25-37